Lulendo Mvulu was born in Maquela do Zombo (see 'Zombo City'), a small town in the far north of the Uige Province in Angola, but was raised in the country's capital, Luanda. Lulendo learned to sing in church, but it was his grandfather who initiated him into the secrets of the likembe (thumb piano). Between 1975 and 2002 Angola was torn apart by a civil war between the MPLA (popular movement for the liberation of Angola) and UNITA (União para a independência total da Angola), making Lulendo decide to flee his country in 1982 to settle in Paris. After a time working, among other things, as a backing vocalist for Papa Wemba, Lulendo also started focusing on a solo career, 'Mwinda' (Lingala for "light") now being his fourth studio album to date. In his songs Lulendo alternates between Portuguese, Lingala, French and his native language Kikongo. A noted guest on the album is Tony Allen, who's drumming can be heard in title track 'Mwinda' and in 'Africa Meu Amor'. 'Mwinda' mostly contains light-hearted afro-pop, always with Lulendo's likembe in a leading role, but our favorite from the track list was the more afrobeat influenced 'Mamona Mbua'.